[Healeys] Alloy Head

[Lou G]

And lucky we are to have the option to get the upgraded head that's been engineered by top professionals...

I had the original head 'hot-welded' in 2001 during an engine rebuild, and it held up nicely for awhile, but in 2007 I had the symptoms of a blown head gasket while on a rally in Curt's hometown of Carlsbad.  I tried to get the car to 
run on the freeway towards home, but the running on two cylinders had me afraid that damage would be done
to the crank, so I pulled off, parked in front of a Porsche dealership and called AAA.  30 yrs of ownership, two 1000 mile trips to Oregon with the original head, first time for a tow.  
The machine shop found new cracks in the combustion chambers, so I had a good excuse to upgrade to the DW alloy head.
The car accelerates really, really well--wow, this is a race car; it still can get hot going up long grades, but runs great overall.

Lou
San Diego, Calif
BN1
AN5

> at least two suppliers have gone to all the  
>trouble and development expense to make and market aftermarket aluminum heads  
>for a car which had a total production run of only 15,000 units, (I am now  
>including only the BN1-BN2 Healeys, not Austin applications) perhaps only  
>50% of which are still on the road, does say mouthfuls....